I got a paper copy of this for review as well as NetGalley access, and I was not expecting to fall in love with it, but here we are! When I heard it was a web comic, I thought, "Oh, okay," and did not expect a fully cohesive, charming, and wonderful book. Truly, one of my top picks of the year.

This graphic novel was weird and goofy, but in the best possible way!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book, which I voluntarily chose to review.

The cartoony art style and strange beginning made me initially think this book was not for me. I thought it would be just a bunch of odd little stories, but it was much more. The overarching story was interesting and the characters were developed well. The diversity of the characters as well as the humor makes this a good choice for teens.

This is a wild ride of a book, and it appears to be just the first in a series. Barney, who named himself after the purple dinosaur, has left his home, because he can't live there, with his parents not accepting his sexuality. He gets a job at a theme park that is actually a portal to the demon world. Oh, and his dog gets pocessed by one of the demons and learns to talk and has magic powers.

And through all this, Barney is falling in love.

It is a strange book, but once you get into it, it was a lot of fun.

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Give it a try. It is very different, and that is a complement.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

I have been looking forward to this book since it was announced, as I was a huge fan of Hamish Steele's prior book, Pantheon. DeadEndia continues to showcase Steele's adept sense of humor and love of the esoteric, but it is tonally quite different from its predecessor. Protagonist Barney is a homeless trans man who takes refuge in the haunted house attraction at the theme park where his best friend, Norma, has worked for years. Unbeknownst to him, Dead End is the location of an actual doorway to other dimensions, and soon he and his dog Pugsley are thrown into a strange battle featuring demons, angels, ghosts, and everything in between. Steele's colorful artwork is joyous to look at, full of bright colors and soft, round shapes. Simultaneously hilarious, touching, and sad, and boasting a beautifully diverse cast, this is a promising start to what looks to be a multi-volume series. As Steele was just awarded the Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award at the Eisner Award Ceremony for his work on Pantheon, it is safe to assume that we will see many excellent titles from him as time passes.

A fun, diverse graphic novel! The illustrations are vibrant, and the story is funny, whimsical, and endearing.

I recently received an ebook ARC of Deadendia: The Watcher’s Test from the publisher and I just finished reading it. I wanted to try to review the graphic novel before it comes out next month and it was a delightful and surprising read. I have been more and more into graphic novels and comics recently and this one was no exception. The images were all visually appealing and the story was maybe one of the most unique and interesting I have read in a bit. I could have never guessed what was going to happen in a million years.

SPOILERS AHEAD

This graphic novel is the story of three friends working at a theme park in the section called Dead End. One of the main characters is a tour guide in the house in Dead End which happens to kind of be haunted by demons. Not really haunted but more like they come down from this elevator and randomly cause havoc. The other main character is the best friend and janitor for this section. There is also Courtney the demon/ angel who keeps track of all the other beings who get off the elevator or escape into our world. The graphic novel essentially entails their adventures at the park with the angels and the demons. Including one very large story arc, I did not see coming at all. Each chapter told its own story at times but also came together to form the larger overarching story for this graphic novel which I found to be really interesting. I also really enjoyed this because if I needed to stop and do something the chapter marker was a great place to stop.

Overall, I really enjoyed this graphic novel and gave it 4.5 stars out of 5 on Goodreads. I found the illustrations to be amazing and super appealing which are important to me in a graphic novel. Almost as important as the storylines. One tidbit I wanted to add was there is also a Deadendia cartoon short online. I watched it and really did not think it was for me. After reading the graphic novel the art style was so different I just could not really get into it. However, I have the video here for you to try!

Sadly i cannot read this due technical difficulties with my kobo. Sadly, it freezes after the first few pages, making it impossible to read. If it's at all possible to read in another format or if the issue can be fixed, email me at chasingmermaidsreviews@gmail.com I would still love to read and review this book for you.

Entertaining read that doesn't pull its punches. Great for fans of Steven Universe and Gravity Falls. The illustrations are attractive throughout.

And I loved that a ghost dog said "Boof" instead of "Woof" = A+++++++

Wacky stories featuring a group of friends fighting angels and demons at a hellmouth in the center of an amusement park. This was odd, really odd, yet I liked it, even with art where everyone looks like they are related to Bert of Bert and Ernie fame. Very LBGTQ+.

[4.5 stars]
THIS WAS SO FUN! And really weird. But so diverse! I don't even know how to explain it, but if you like things like Welcome to Night Vale, I think you'd like this. It got characters of color, a trans dude, other queer characters, a girl who wears a hijab, and angels and demons! I mean honestly, what more can you ask for?!

I knocked off half a star because it made me cry. But I seriously can't wait to read more!

Sneaky Good

I came to this book after reading Hamish's "Pantheon - The True Story of the Egyptian Deities". That was a scurrilous and irreverent history of the lives, loves, and schemes of those Egyptian scamps, and it had a weird but oddly compelling energy. Well, "DeadEndia" certainly has the trademark Hamish antic/nutsy elements, but it ended up being surprisingly tender and generous.

It's almost impossible to give a complete sense of the book. Here's an honest try. Pollywood is a theme park dedicated to the various roles of a famous actress. At it's center is a haunted house, Dead End. That house is also an actual portal to Hell. Norma and Barney work at the house, and deal with mundane theme park problems and the rather more compelling problems caused by eldritch Lovecraftian horrors. In equal measure this is a workplace comedy, a supernatural horror/action tale, a farce, an ensemble office comedy, a clever and twisty time shifting apocalypse tale, and a multi-layered LBGTQIA romance.

Over the course of eight chapters the reader will encounter a half-dozen incursions of angels, demons, and other unsavory types into our plane of existence. While these events are all cleverly resolved, little hints and clues support a separate but intertwined book length story arc involving a mysterious "Watcher", and that will all come together in a final chapter that makes sense of all the loose threads and odd hints from elsewhere in the book. Meanwhile Norma and Barney will have each followed his/her/their own hero paths. There are at least a dozen diverse supporting characters - including Barney's talking dog Pugsley, (the talking having been left over from a demonic possession), Courtney, (the demon who helps out at the portal), Fingers, (who knows the ancient books), and so on - each of whom is a well realized character on his own. I could go on, but you get the idea.

It is important to note that in addition to clever plotting and sub-plotting, and complementing the idiosyncratic characters, the book is very funny. There is sarcasm and the like, but most of the humor is in subtle throwaway lines, pop culture shout-outs, deadpan and wry observations, and witty dialogue and cross-talk.

The drawing takes some getting used to. The drawings are vivid and colorful, and you always know what's going on. But forms, especially of characters, are always a little fluid and exaggerated. Hamish is very good with expressions, which is essential to telling and understanding the story, and is much more casual about arms and legs and so on. And when one group of demon princes look like they're have onion sacks for heads, it's because Hamish doesn't care and it's amusing, (and because their heads are onion sacks).

Bottom line. This was sweet and funny, with a bit of edge, tempered by a generous and humane approach to the characters. I liked it more and more as I read it, and by the end I was a fan. This was a very rewarding find.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

DeadEndia is no ordinary amusement park: it's also a host to several demons and angels, as it's one of several levels between heaven and hell. Norma has worked there for ages and kindly agrees to get her pal, Barney, a job there - only to discover that Barney is not only working there, but living in the park with his dog because his parents have, essentially, kicked him out for being trans.

At DeadEndia, Barney is forced to contend with literal demons - and for him, these are a little easier to deal with than his real life. Norma helps guide him through the weird new world of DeadEndia and its unusual inhabitants, but there are some sinister goings-on afoot that threaten to entangle not only Norma and Barney, but Barney's precious pooch.

Well worth a read.

I received access to this title via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

An enjoyable tale of demons, amusement parks, and talking dogs. Features a diverse cast of characters and the artwork is just the sort of appealing cartoon-style drawings I enjoy most. The light romance featuring two guys, one of whom is transgender, will appeal to readers looking for a couple to ‘ship.

I picked this up because of the art, and was pleasantly surprised by the high-quality storyline (funny! intriguing!) and interesting characters (great diversity with LGBTQ interest). Highly recommended.